The transfer of heavy excavators equipped with crawler tracks, for example, in mines and quarries, is problematic. It is sought to avoid long transfers of excavators with suspensions equipped with crawler tracks, as long transfers are slow and wear the suspensions unnecessarily, shortening their service life.
Patent publication FI 101779 B is known from the prior art disclosing a transportation device for moving an excavator from one place to another on wheels. The excavator is driven on its crawler tracks partly on top of the wheels and the crawler traces of the excavator are finally raised off the ground with the aid of a set of booms supported on the load space of a transfer vehicle, for example, a dump truck, with the aid of the bucket of the excavator. In this way, the excavator can be moved rapidly and without stressing the tracks from one work site to another.
However, a problem in such, a solution is the great mass of an excavator when moving it on a sloping base. When then moving an excavator using the transportation device according to the aforementioned patent, the towing transfer vehicle must be responsible for producing power both to transfer and to brake the excavator. When correctly dimensioned, the power of the transfer vehicle will be sufficient for the transfer; but braking effect often becomes a problem. At a mine, an excavator or other work machine must often be transferred on a sloping base, i.e. downhill, when a great deal of braking effect will be required. The brakes of the transfer vehicle will then be insufficient to produce the necessary braking power, or at least will operate at the extreme limit of their capacity.
In addition, a problem in such transfers is the slipperiness of the sloping base, for example, in winter or in rain, when an excavator or work machine with a great mass can push the transfer vehicle downhill in front of it, causing a great hazard. The base material too can be slippery. The safety philosophy of the sector is generally based on the idea that the speed, of transfer of all moving work machines must be such that they can be stopped if necessary. In addition to excavators, the problem can also appear in connection with other heavy work machines equipped with a work boom.